1. Biggest Loss : Andre Iguodala, George Karl, or Masai Ujiri? It will look like Karl or Iggy for awhile, because they won't have the pedal down during the regular season. But it's probably Ujiri. He had some kind of plan he was working with, now they are just a collection of guys with no rudder.

2. Who is the best player on the Denver Nuggets ? Lawson.

3. A question from Dr. Seuss: Javale MCGEE is now FREE! You'll SEE how good he'll BE!!! He'll have a scoring SPREE, play some great DEE, and suprise both you and ME!!! AGREE? He'll be a little better because the fear of the early hook will be gone but not much. He is what he is.

4. (A) The Nuggets should trade a Power Forward for a Shooting Guard, or (B) The Nuggets answer to Shooting Guard is on the roster already. Trade

5. Soooooooo.......How can the Nuggets get to the next level? Pick a core, and tear down and rebuild around it. I don't like this roster as a semi final product at all. Never did, always said Gallo was injury prone and that would kill them, always said too many indians and no chiefs. The only team without a star i recall winning was the pistons and they were all chiefs and no indians. Not the other way around.

1. Biggest Loss : Andre Iguodala, George Karl, or Masai Ujiri?
Probably Karl. I know the fans were sick of him and he never got out of the first round, but he was a great coach for this team (and altitude) and maximized many players potential though his style. Think about harrington on this squad compared to the rest of his career. What other coach would have the balls to bench mcgee for koufos (a smart move imo)? AI is a great loss, but they have the wing depth to cover it for me. Did they need to move on? Maybe, but I think fans will soon see how important he was to the success of this squad.

2. Who is the best player on the Denver Nuggets ?
Huh, this is a hard one. Tempted to go with Gallo over Lawson. but its probably lawson.

3. A question from Dr. Seuss: Javale MCGEE is now FREE! You'll SEE how good he'll BE!!! He'll have a scoring SPREE, play some great DEE, and suprise both you and ME!!! AGREE?
nope. he will have some incredible highlights, but he will be a negative factor on offense and defense (hes not a great defender, despite the blocks). They screwed the pooch trading koufos, though I do really like arthur. I wouldnt be surprised to see them end up starting hickson or arthur.

4. (A) The Nuggets should trade a Power Forward for a Shooting Guard, or (B) The Nuggets answer to Shooting Guard is on the roster already.
gallo and chandler should both start once healthy. so, B. I do think they need better wing depth so the trade would be smart as well.

5. Soooooooo.......How can the Nuggets get to the next level?
gonna be hard. I dont have a great answer, especially since we havent seen Shaw as a coach. I do like almost all of their young talent, so maybe they dont need to do anything? If they can play wilson and gallo at the wings with lawson, faried and mcgee (playing better than I anticipate). they could be a highpaced fun team. Need much better defense though.

George Karl short term. His system was primed to win games in the regular season. Masai Ujiri long term because in his time with the Nuggets he showed tons of promise. Losing Iggy hurts are defense and we lose another guy who can occasionally step up but he couldn't shoot a lick and his offense struggled at times.

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2. Who is the best player on the Denver Nuggets ?

Ty Lawson without question. Just check the playoffs, not a Nuggets fan who would tell you otherwise. Gallo has a say when he's clicking but too inconsistent and always ends up getting hurt after a stretch run where he looks like he's about to break out. Faried is to limited offensively, McGee's brain prevents him from putting it together. Only thing I question about Lawson is his aggressiveness, but besides that at this moment it's him.

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3. A question from Dr. Seuss: Javale MCGEE is now FREE! You'll SEE how good he'll BE!!! He'll have a scoring SPREE, play some great DEE, and surprise both you and ME!!! AGREE?

He's more polished down low than people think. His problem is knowing when and what move to use. You can't do a running hook when your 7 feet away from the hoop on a bad angle. I think with Karl gone McGee has a really solid year, that includes some obvious boneheaded plays. Basketball IQ will always hold him back, something like 12-15 with 7-8 rebounds and 2 blocks is doable.

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4. (A) The Nuggets should trade a Power Forward for a Shooting Guard, or (B) The Nuggets answer to Shooting Guard is on the roster already.

This year will tell. Evan looked pretty good last year in terms of potential. Hopefully Shaw lets that questioned be answered.

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5. Soooooooo.......How can the Nuggets get to the next level?

Next level? If you mean serious contenders than I don't think they can. They'd need to hit a homerun in the draft, sign a big name FA or grab somebody in a trade that had potential to be that guy. Hope Lawson continues to grow this year, Gallo stays healthy and puts together a full season of the glimpses he's shown. To get to the 2nd round fodder/miracle WCF eventually they just need there roster players to continue to grow.

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POWER RANK!!: Arthur, Faried, Hickson, McGee, Mozgov, Randolph

Faried
McGee
Hickson
Mozzy
Arthur
Randolph

Is how I'd want the minutes allocated.

I<3NBA

08-21-2013 04:32 PM

Re: ISH's FIVE QUESTIONS: Denver Nuggets Edition

1. Biggest Loss : Andre Iguodala, George Karl, or Masai Ujiri?

Iguodala.

2. Who is the best player on the Denver Nuggets ?

Gallinari

3. A question from Dr. Seuss: Javale MCGEE is now FREE! You'll SEE how good he'll BE!!! He'll have a scoring SPREE, play some great DEE, and surprise both you and ME!!! AGREE?

NEE. You can't teach the unteachable. IQ cannot be increased, can only decrease.

4. (A) The Nuggets should trade a Power Forward for a Shooting Guard, or (B) The Nuggets answer to Shooting Guard is on the roster already.

1. Biggest Loss : Andre Iguodala, George Karl, or Masai Ujiri?
A -- Masai. What he has done since getting to Toronto is extraordinary. He seems quite competent.

2. Who is the best player on the Denver Nuggets ?
A -- Lawson. Gallo or Faried should be, but neither has been able to claim it, yet.

3. A question from Dr. Seuss: Javale MCGEE is now FREE! You'll SEE how good he'll BE!!! He'll have a scoring SPREE, play some great DEE, and surprise both you and ME!!! AGREE?
A -- Disagree. His stats may be pretty solid, but he won't be "good". Not unless he got a brain transplant.

4. (A) The Nuggets should trade a Power Forward for a Shooting Guard, or (B) The Nuggets answer to Shooting Guard is on the roster already.
A -- I think Wilson Chandler should start there (instead of Fournier). But other than that, who would they trade? And for whom? All "Player X should be traded" or "Position Y should be traded for Position Z" can only be graded with actual players. Should Faried (PF) be traded for Ben Gordon (SG)? Good lord, no. And unless the Nuggets trade Faried, I don't see them getting back a player of Chandler's caliber, anyway.

5. Soooooooo.......How can the Nuggets get to the next level?
A -- Best option? Talk to the Heat about a base package consisting of Faried and Gallo for Bosh. Similar scenario for Love. Essentially, they need a big that can spread the floor, while still maintaining their depth.

I want to say Karl, but Shaw should be a servicable coach for them, so Iguodala.

2. Who is the best player on the Denver Nuggets ?

Ty Lawson

3. A question from Dr. Seuss: Javale MCGEE is now FREE! You'll SEE how good he'll BE!!! He'll have a scoring SPREE, play some great DEE, and surprise both you and ME!!! AGREE?

Translation: Now he will be limited to 1 Shaqtin' a Fool appearances per week, no episodes devoted entirely to him.

4. (A) The Nuggets should trade a Power Forward for a Shooting Guard, or (B) The Nuggets answer to Shooting Guard is on the roster already.

I feel Danilo can slide over from time to time, but they should make some kind of trade, since it looks like their roster is not as good anymore.

5. Soooooooo.......How can the Nuggets get to the next level?

Blow it up and start over.

Dr. Cheesesteak

08-21-2013 06:08 PM

Re: ISH's FIVE QUESTIONS: Denver Nuggets Edition

1. Biggest Loss : Andre Iguodala, George Karl, or Masai Ujiri?
George Karl. Iggy is a nice player and Ujiri constructed that deep talented team. But it was Karl who brought it all together. I know in the NBA, talent > coaching most of the time, but Karl's influence on his team and even coaching staff was exceptional.

2. Who is the best player on the Denver Nuggets?
I'd go with Gallinari, though Ty Lawson is close. Gallo has a big scoring repertoire and is a decent defender. Though given the composition of the team, his absence won't make a HUGE difference. Denver's other wings are all pretty good too. I think Lawson is more important to the team, but Gallo is more talented overall.

3. A question from Dr. Seuss: Javale MCGEE is now FREE! You'll SEE how good he'll BE!!! He'll have a scoring SPREE, play some great DEE, and surprise both you and ME!!! AGREE?
Disagree. I think he'll probably go like 18/9 or somewhere around there. But no way he goes like 24/11 or something of that proportion. He's a freak athlete who runs the floor. I don't think he'll turn into Hakeem or something out of nowhere.

4. (A) The Nuggets should trade a Power Forward for a Shooting Guard, or (B) The Nuggets answer to Shooting Guard is on the roster already.
I suppose B. Fournier is set to improve this season and possibly be a key player. Foye and Hamilton are serviceable, though I wouldn't say are "answers". Thing is, is improving the SG position worth giving up Faried (assuming Hickson, Randolph or Arthur won't be enough value to bring in someone better than Fournier's potential).

5. Soooooooo.......How can the Nuggets get to the next level?
As been said before - get a "superstar" level player. No doubt Nuggets have a lot of talent and depth. But how many top-level game-changing players do they have? None I can think of. Ty Lawson is close, maybe. But all of the team seem to be elite complementary types.

Interesting to see some people go Gallo over Lawson, or think it's a tough choice to make. Gallo is really talented, more so than Ty but has never completely put it together. He was the best player on the team for that on stretch when Ty was playing really timid. Even than tho, Gallo was doing what like 19 a game? When Lawson found his stride he was putting up legit numbers. He had that one month where he was averaging like 23/8 this year and looked like a legit franchise player. Had like 3-4 games this year with double digit assists and zero turnovers that I'm not even sure anybody else surpassed him in that. Finished the year at 17/7 on 46/36/75 on a team that won 57 games.

Lawson has also shown up in the playoffs individually for the most part (he has had some stinks and inconsistent/lack of aggression type games). Curry going ham makes people overlook what he did. He had that 35/10 game, how many players in this years playoffs had a better first round game? Less than 5. Averaged 21/8 in 6 games. 19/6 the year before in the playoffs.

Inconsistent and timid, kinda like Gallo but at this point to me as a Nuggets fan it would be incredibly hard to say Danilo is better. Maybe one day, def has been the best player for spurts but overall, Lawson has it on lock IMO.

JimmyMcAdocious

08-21-2013 07:20 PM

Re: ISH's FIVE QUESTIONS: Denver Nuggets Edition

1. Biggest Loss : Andre Iguodala, George Karl, or Masai Ujiri?
--Karl. Although they were never going to win a championship with that style of play... Or that style of play with that roster. None of those 3 are franchise changing losses.

2. Who is the best player on the Denver Nuggets?
--Lawson. It's pretty clearly Lawson, too. He doesn't have the most upside on the team (tho his upside is probably an allstar season), but as of now he's clearly the best player, engine, and maybe leader of the team. I think Gallo could top him eventually. Then again, people have been saying "eventually" with Gallo his entire career and he's still a roleplayer.

3. A question from Dr. Seuss: Javale MCGEE is now FREE! You'll SEE how good he'll BE!!! He'll have a scoring SPREE, play some great DEE, and surprise both you and ME!!! AGREE?
--Agree. Wilt McGee will lead the league in blocks and show moderate improve next season. After an entire season under his belt, he will start to average the numbers Wilt would in this era: 19/11/4.

4. (A) The Nuggets should trade a Power Forward for a Shooting Guard, or (B) The Nuggets answer to Shooting Guard is on the roster already.
--I would like to see what that foreign bitch whose name escapes me right now can do. However, if he's not the answer then no one on the roster is. I'm probably in the minority, tho I would probably trade Gallo for a SG and start Chandler at SF. I think Chandler is the better player and Gallo will always be a "wait until next season" guy. Might as well trade him while some team will bite on his potential. I also don't think Faried is the answer at PF for a championship contending team... That's another story.

5. Soooooooo.......How can the Nuggets get to the next level?
--They need Gallo to get close to his potential, Lawson to have his allstar year, McGee to learn to be a cleanup/high efficiency player with all-NBA defense, Faried to learn how to play defense, and a consistent D and 3 player at SG. One of those talented bench players also needs to embrace the sixth man role and LESS Andre Miller. And it all needs to happen on the same year because no way those players keep up that level up play for more than a season or two.

Ty Lawson > Gallo for me at this point in the time, Ty was a little beast last season. Evan Fournier is the future SG for the Denver Nuggets no question about it. I would start Hickson over Faried as well next season playing next to McGee.

niko

08-21-2013 09:03 PM

Re: ISH's FIVE QUESTIONS: Denver Nuggets Edition

If you're hurt enough of the time that the team can't rely on you (ala Amare) then your skill level has to be taken down a lot comparing to other players. For the most part, day in and day out despite any shortcomings, you know for the most part Lawson will be available. Gallo, you don't. I liked him as a Knick but i've always said he's injury prone. You want to believe in him because he starts to get in a groove and you can see all star level, that he can get there, then something snaps and you start over.

KG215

08-21-2013 11:25 PM

Re: ISH's FIVE QUESTIONS: Denver Nuggets Edition

Quote:

1. Biggest Loss : Andre Iguodala, George Karl, or Masai Ujiri?

I want to say Karl, because the Nuggets were at least going to be a 50+ win team and make the playoffs in his system. However, it became even more apparent (in my opinion) his style isn't going to consistently take them far in the playoffs. Ujiri is a pretty good GM, though, so I think he'll be the bigger longterm loss. As good as Iggy is defensively, he's nearing 30, and wasn't the type of player that was going to put Denver over the top. Stings to lose him, but not a deathblow or anything.

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2. Who is the best player on the Denver Nuggets ?

I think it pretty obviously comes down to Lawson and Gallinari, but my answer is Lawson. He makes the team go and, in my opinion, he's their heart and soul.

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3. A question from Dr. Seuss: Javale MCGEE is now FREE! You'll SEE how good he'll BE!!! He'll have a scoring SPREE, play some great DEE, and surprise both you and ME!!! AGREE?

With the addition of Hickson and Arthur, and with Mozgov still on the team, how many more minutes per game can we expect McGee to get? I could be wrong, but I'm thinking Hickson will be getting minutes at C and the PF rotation will be Faried, Arthur and maybe Randolph?

Either way (I'm sure there will be an increase in minutes) McGee may just be one of those players that's always a mystery.

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4. (A) The Nuggets should trade a Power Forward for a Shooting Guard, or (B) The Nuggets answer to Shooting Guard is on the roster already.

Think I need to see more of Fournier in a more involved role before saying anything definitively. From what I saw of him last year, he showed flashes of being a very solid player. Not to mention, SG is a pretty weak position right now, so it's not like they'd be able to get an upgrade in a trade since the teams with good young SG's (Houston, Washington, Cleveland, etc.) wouldn't part with them for cheap.

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5. Soooooooo.......How can the Nuggets get to the next level?

This is a really common, generic answer, but it's still true. I just don't think they'll ever get to the next level without a legit star/superstar type player. In their case, it doesn't even have to be a top tier player (think LeBron, Durant, CP3, Kobe, Carmelo tier) since they have so many other quality players; but I do think they need someone who can just go into takeover mode in the playoffs, and almost single-handily beat teams by themselves one or two games a series.

Wavves

08-22-2013 08:51 AM

Re: ISH's FIVE QUESTIONS: Denver Nuggets Edition

1. Biggest Loss : Andre Iguodala, George Karl, or Masai Ujiri?

Don't know much about him, but Masai Ujiri has been good for the Raptors so far. So I shall say him.

2. Who is the best player on the Denver Nuggets ?

Lawson. Not sure really.

3. A question from Dr. Seuss: Javale MCGEE is now FREE! You'll SEE how good he'll BE!!! He'll have a scoring SPREE, play some great DEE, and surprise both you and ME!!! AGREE?

He'll never be more than a good C. He will be good in his starting role, but nothing more. Makes too many mistakes and too low of an IQ to be any better than that.

4. (A) The Nuggets should trade a Power Forward for a Shooting Guard, or (B) The Nuggets answer to Shooting Guard is on the roster already.

Ehhh, the position could get better but it isn't bad. I liked what I saw from Fournier late last season (had his best game against my Blazers) and Foye is a baller.

5. Soooooooo.......How can the Nuggets get to the next level?

A superstar, they can win with this roster, but it's more of a 'sure fire' thing with a superstar. They would have much more of a chance to win, it's just how the NBA is.

POWER RANK!!: Arthur, Faried, Hickson, McGee, Mozgov, Randolph

Faried
Hickson
McGee
Mozgov
Arthur
Randolph

NugzFan

08-22-2013 01:50 PM

Re: ISH's FIVE QUESTIONS: Denver Nuggets Edition

Quote:

Originally Posted by kshutts1

1. Biggest Loss : Andre Iguodala, George Karl, or Masai Ujiri?
A -- Masai. What he has done since getting to Toronto is extraordinary. He seems quite competent.

While I do think Masai is great what has he done so far in Toronto to be extraordinary? Just the bargani thing or other moves as well? Just curious.